Wheel-hoe



(No Mbdel.)

O.'E. NASH.

WHEEL HOE.

No. 367,835. Patented Aug. 9, 1887'.

mitne'sses I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFI E.

CHARLES NASH, OF SOUTH HADLEY, MASSACHUSETTS.

WHEEL-HOE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 367,835, dated August 9, 1887.

Application tlledDccember16,1886. Serial No. QZLTSG. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. NASH, of South Hadley, in the county of Hampshire and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in for destroying weeds and billing up the soil upon both sides of a row'of corn or other crop.

The object of my invention is to improve the construction of these hoes by providing means whereby the blade-carrying beams can be quickly and easily lifted from the ground to clear large stones and other obstructions, and also by providing means whereby the said beams can be conveniently and accurately guided independently of the carriage to follow irregularities in the. rows.

To these ends my invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed, out in the claims. j v

Referring to the drawings, in which like letters designate like parts throughout, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wheel-hoe constructed according tonny invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of parts thereof, illustrat ing the operation of elevating the blade-carrying frame above the ground. Fig. 3 is a plan view with the seat removed, to more clearly show the parts beneath the same.

The letters A and B designate two diverging beams carrying the blades 6, said beams being connected together by the arched braces C D, and said braces in turn being united by a cross-bar, E, secured to each brace at the middle point of the arch. The braces are secured to the beams by bolts passing through slots h in horizontal feet with which said braces terminate, thus providing for adjust ment of the beams toward and away from each other to suit the particular kind of crop with which the hoe isto be used. The said beams, braces, and cross-bar thus form a frame,which I will designate as the blade carrying frame. This frame is supported, in the manner presently described, upon a carriage consisting of the axle N, wheels and tongue 0, said tongue being united to the axle by the diverging arms P, thus leaving an open space between said arms to enable the driver to observe any irregularities in the row and to accurately guide the frame accordingly, as hereinafter described. A seat, S, is supported upon the axle by standards T, or in any other suitable manner, and the carriage will be provided with the usual draft-bar and whiflletrecs (not shown) for attaching horses thereto. I

Iivoted upon a bar, G, near the point of intersection of arms P of the tongue, is a liftinglever consisting of a long arm, V, connected with cross-bar E midway between braces O D by a swiveljoint, F, and :a short arm, H, extending upwardly at-an obtuse angle to arm V, as shown, and terminating in a suitable footrest. By means of this lever the driver, by pressing down the short arm with one foot, can elevate the frame more or less, as may be necessary, to clear large stones and other obstructions, such operation being indicated by the" dotted lines in Fig. 2. A hook, R, is pivoted to the tongue in position to grasp the short arm of the lever when the frame is elevated to its highest point and retain it in that position when driving'to andfrom the field.

A vertical steering-lever, J, having the lateral arm K at its lower end, is journaled in the ton gue,so as to have free axial movement, said steering-lever'being located in front of the lifting-lever just described, but within easy reach of the drivers foot, and being provided with a foot-bar, I. The lateral arm K is connected with an. eye, M, upon beam A by a link, L. From this construction and arrangement it is obvious that by keeping one foot upon foot-bar I the driver can accurately guide the frame independently of the carriage, the swivel ioint F permitting the former to turn laterally to follow such guiding movement.

' The draft-strain of the blade-carrying frame will be borne principally by the steering-lever and its conne'ctinglink, the'swivel-joint F serving to steady the movement of said frame. The operation of the hoe thus constructed has been indicatedin the above description.

Thebeams A B are adjusted laterally by means of the bolts and slots h to correspond with the particular crop with which the hoe is to be used-potatoes, for instance, requiring a greater space between the beams than corn. The hoe is then started at the end of a row with one beam upon each side thereof, or, in other words, straddling the same.

It is not customary or desirable to use wheel-hoes with corn after the latter has reached a height of more than two and onehalf or three feet, and wheels of the ordinary size will permit crops of that height to pass beneath the axle without being broken. The blades 1) will draw the soil closely about the base of the standing crop upon both sides of the row, and will also effectually destroy the weeds to a distance each side thereof equal to the distance between the rear ends of the beams A B. The driver with one foot upon the rest at the end of arm H is enabled to easily and quickly operate the lever H V to elevate the frame above the ground to clear large stones and other obstructions that would be liable to clog between the beams or injure the blades. Morcover,in crops planted by hand especially,

many of'the hills will be found to be out of alignment with the others, and by keeping his other foot upon foot-bar I the driver is enabled to conveniently and accurately guide the beams A B through steering-lever J and link L upon each side of such irregular hills, which would otherwise be uprooted and destroyed. The blades I) will be detachably secured to the beams in the usual manner, so that blades of different sizes and contour can be used with different crops and with the various stages in the growth thereof.

It is obvious that I could secure a hand-bar to the steering-lever, so as to guide the frame with one hand, instead of with the foot; but I prefer the construction shown.

It is also obvious that other modifications could be made within the spirit of my invention.

I cl ai In- 1. In a wheel-hoe, the combination, with a blade-carrying frame consisting of two diverging beams adjustably connected together by two arched braces projecting upwardly upon opposite sides of the axle of the carriage and a crossbar uniting said braces above the axle, of a swivel-joint connecting said frame with the carriage, and means,snbslantially as described, for both elevating and laterally turning said frame independently of the carriage.

2. In a wheel-hoe, the combination,with the carriage having the tongue connected thereto by the diverging arms 1, of the blade-carrying frame constructed substantial] y as described, and suspended from said carriage by a swivel-joint in such manner as to cause its front end to extend in front of the axle, the steering-lever J, having the lateral arm K at its lower end and foot-bar I at its upper end, and link L, connecting said arm K with said frame, substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

CHARLES E. NASH.

\Vitncsses:

W. H. CHAPMAN, H. K. ILxwns. 

